Retro video game collecting: An industry built on nostalgia but plagued by high prices

Dusty, faded, yellowing cartridges, discs and consoles, sometimes almost 20 to 30 years old, are useless to most people, often discarded in the trash or sold for only a few dollar at a yard sale.

After all, two new, high-tech consoles, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, just recently landed on store shelves. Why would anyone be interested in playing outdated decade old games and consoles? The answer to this question is one word: nostalgia.

To old school game collectors, retro game store owners and YouTube personalities, these outdated discs, cartridges and consoles, are very expensive and highly collectible plastic gold causing the creation of burgeoning underground industry growing around retro games.

Over the last few years the popularity of old school video games across various retro console platforms like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), Nintendo 64 (N64) and even Sega Genesis, has grown significantly, with some rare titles selling for hundreds of dollars (sometimes even thousands of dollars).

“I noticed a rise around 2005. I suppose the Wii and Wii U’s virtual console retro games has brought a whole new generation of gamers into classic gaming. And the kids like me who bought them back in the day are adults now and might have kids of their own that they’d like to share these games with. Or it’s those gamers who now have high disposable incomes to blow on buying back they’re fave games,” said Brett.

The retro library on the Wii U’s virtual console is expanding but pales in comparison to the Wii’s. Handout/Nintendo

While emulating old school video games through desktop and mobile device-based programs, designed to recreate the game and console’s original experience, have been around for years, the Virtual Console brought this concept to the masses. The legality of using emulators and roms, the file name for virtual video game files, is also questionable. A few years after Nintendo, Sony followed suit and began re-releasing PlayStation games for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita via the PlayStation Network. Today downloadable retro games for various consoles can be found on almost every major console platform.

Brett feels the internet, particularly YouTube, has also given retro gamers a social platform to discuss their hobby. Popular YouTube retro collecting shows like The Game Chasers, an online series rivaling the production value of TV shows like Storage Wars and RetroLiberty, have also contributed to the popularity of retro game collecting.

“Another factor is the boom of social media, podcasts, blogs and YouTube content centered around gaming. In Japan they have a TV show which pulls in huge numbers of viewers. Games Centre CX focuses on retro games,” said Brett.

Fez has a unique, retro look about it. Handout/Polytron

The rise of the indie gaming scene featuring small developers not tethered to the demands of multi-million dollar budgets and mainstream publishers, has also helped popularized retro gaming, particularly when it comes to reminding people how visually appealing pixelated graphics can be. Games like Fez, Spelunky, Minecraft, FTL and Towerfall as well as countless other titles, opt for a more pixelated, retro look, as opposed to high polygon counts and graphic fidelity.

“The Indie game scene has had the biggest affect on bringing back an appreciation for traditional-styled gaming, graphics. It’s a whole combination of things,” said Brett.

Rendering Ranger R2 for the Super Famicom is Brett’s most expensive title. It’s not valued at $3400 USD (he purchased it back when it was still affordable).

With this rise in popularity has also come a growing industry of people looking to make some quick cash. Many ‘re-sellers,’ a term collectors often use with negative connotations in mind, revel in their ability to price-gouge unsuspecting customers new to the hobby. If you walk into your local flea market looking for a copy of The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past for the SNES and discover the seller has priced at $75, odds are you should probably take your game hunting elsewhere, although CIB (complete in box) games tend to be more expensive than loose cartridges.

According to Brampton-based 747 flea market retro game retailer, Paul Sheppard, high prices are a large problem for re-sellers looking to do more than capitalize on the retro video game craze. He wants to build relationships with his customers and hopes that the recent rise of retro gaming is more than just a passing fad.

“[Our prices] are actually something we take a lot of pride in and hope to maintain in what is quickly becoming a crazy marketplace. The re-seller marketplace right now for retro video games definitely does have its fair share of price gouging shops and vendors just looking to cash in on the craze and make a quick buck.” said Paul Sheppard.

“Like any other market, when something heats up to a climax of popularity there’s always a group of people who will want to take advantage of the situation and have little care or regard for the product itself or their customers. They simply want to line their pockets with cash.”

Paul Sheppard’s game booth at the 747 Flea Market in Brampton. Paul Sheppard

About two years ago, Sheppard decided he wanted to relive his childhood Mario Kart 64 memories. So began searching popular classified site, Kijiji, in an attempt to hunt down a Nintendo 64. He found a listing for 11 Nintendo 64 titles still in their original boxes for only $125, a price unheard of in today’s retro video game market, and quickly purchased the collection. He then went home, hooked up his new N64, popped in Mario Kart 64, invited a few friends over and let the nostalgia flow.

Like many re-sellers, Sheppard realized there was a business opportunity when it came to retro games after looking up the value of the boxed titles he purchased. Two Nintendo 64 Zelda titles included in the bundle, Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time, could easily net him back the $125 he just spent. This eventually led him to creating Game Hoard, his video game re-seller booth.

“One thing sort of lead to another over the course of the weeks and months that followed and I eventually transitioned from reselling my video games on the web and sites like Craigslist/Kijiji to opening a location at a local flea market, where we still currently reside. Opening a retail store is definitely in the cards and something I hope to tackle in the next year or two, as long as the right location comes up at a decent price,” said Sheppard.

The Nintendo 64 is one of the more expensive old school gaming platforms to collect for. Paul Sheppard

However, high prices have driven many collectors to give up on the hobby, especially for individuals trying to hunt down rare titles, although Brett emphasizes there are still many affordable sellers around, particularly online and at yard sales.

“There are still affordable games and sellers out there if you look in the right places. I don’t see retro gaming dying out any time soon. Video game culture is now globally embedded in society. It generates more money than Hollywood and it’s on our televisions, in our music, fashion, literature and art – it’s everywhere! In thirty years time we’ll have a different generation of retro gamers playing different systems but I think the appeal of what we currently deem as ‘retro’ lies with Nintendo’s future. They’re basically the new Disney for a lot of kids. If Nintendo are still influencing popular culture in the future, I think that will preserve the value of their earliest consoles,” said Brett.

Devices like the RetroN 5, a console that can play 10 different old school game systems like the GameBoy, GameBoy Advance, SNES and Genesis, all in one system and in 720p HD, are also a great cost-saving alternative for budding retro collectors on a tight budget. Android game console, Ouya, is also a decent retro emulation alternative. Although both Sheppard and Brett feel there’s a certain something about playing retro games on the machines they were originally created for with classic controllers.

The Retron 5 is far from perfect but it’s a great alternative to shelling out money for over priced retro video game consoles. Handout/Hyperkin

The retro gaming revival is fueled by nostalgia, the thrill of uncovering a rare retro title buried under a collection of useless artifacts or at a yard sale, and a longing to relive gaming experiences players enjoyed as a children.

Whether or not its rampant popularity continues to rise remains to be seen, but right now busting out a NES and playing Metroid of The Legend of Zelda is the cool ‘new’ thing.